Madison County District 2 Commissioner Faye Dyer called for a review of all fees generated by Madison County departments. (The Huntsville Times file photo)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama --Unanswered questions over hundreds of thousands of dollars in passport fees collected by the Madison County Circuit Clerk's office led the County Commission on Monday to expand its probe to all county offices.

The commission voted unanimously Monday morning to review all Madison County programs generating fees that could be revenue for the commission. That could also include state programs supplemented by the commission.

Once that review is complete, the commission would turn over any suggested changes to the Madison County legislative delegation.

The vote came after an at-times tense discussion that started when Commissioner Bob Harrison of north Huntsville said he was "in a dilemma" because the information about passport fees generated by the circuit clerk's office had not been provided despite his repeated requests.

"Am I taking this a little bit personally? Yes," Harrison said during the discussion. After the meeting, Harrison said he felt Circuit Clerk Jane Smith was snubbing him by refusing to provide the requested records.

At issue is the fact that Smith requested $249,000 from the commission in August 2011 to save up to eight courthouse jobs facing elimination because of state budget cuts.

In response to a request from The Times, Smith last week said fees from 2011 passports generated $59,800. So far through 2012, according to Smith last week, $18,900 has been generated. Under state law, Smith, as circuit clerk, keeps those fees in addition to her clerk's salary of about $89,000.

Based on the number of 2011 passport applications, Smith likely collected more than $346,000 since 2007. Smith said she has used some passport fees in the past when state money wasn't available for her office, such as purchasing furniture and computers.

Smith last week, two hours after providing 2011 and 2012 figures to The Times, announced she would no longer handle passport applications. The Times is still seeking fee collection figures for previous years.

Smith said records before 2011 would not be available because those forms had been shredded to protect applicant information.

Harrison first asked for information on passport fees since August 2011 and renewed his request in February.

District 2 Commission Faye Dyer, a Republican, said Harrison's inquiry "smacked of partisanship." Harrison is a Democrat and Smith is a Republican. Smith served as a Democrat until 2010, switching parties shortly after Republicans won control of Montgomery.

"As long as she was a Democrat, it was OK for al those fees to be collected," Dyer said. "I'm not saying it was."

Dyer then introduced a motion that the commission eventually adopted.

"Maybe what we need to do today is consider asking our legislative delegation to re-look at the salaries, and if they need to make an adjustment, let's do away with passport fees and absentee election fees and whatever, and make whatever adjustment needs to be made," Dyer said.

Harrison agreed with Dyer's suggestion but he objected to "the inference that somehow this is politically motivated."

In other business Monday, the commission approved a $1.2 million grant received by a group of Madison County volunteer fire departments to pay for new digital radios designed to improve communication between all county emergency responders.

The commission's approval was needed because the grant calls for a 20 percent matching grant from the commission.

District 4 Commissioner Dale Strong said a grant is being sought for the remaining county volunteer fire departments to pay for their radios.